Axe-Fx III 16.00 Beta 4 "Cygnus" Firmware - Public Beta

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Just to chime in on the Vai amp discussions, about 2 years ago I attended Vai Academy (as well as a number of regulars here such as @fremen, @hippietim, @Larry Mitchell, @Admin M@ etc).

I got to hear Vai many times from a very close proximity in various scenarios both with and without the PA involved. It was fucking glorious! His tone in person is ridiculous... So, so good!

I also was able to jam with Steve face to face on stage with the band (Jeremy Coulson, Phil Bynoe, Dave Weiner). What an great experience (this was my 2nd Vai Academy).

Anyway, as of that time, Steve's rig was as follows:

Guitar -> Carvin VLD preamp pedal -> Axe Fx II for effects -> effects Return of 2 Legacy heads -> 2 Legacy cabs

There are some other things like Wah/Whammy in there, too... But that's the core setup.

This was the same rig he used 18 months before at the previous Vai Academy.

I'm pretty sure he's moved on to the next thing from the VLD / Legacy combo but not certain.

In any case, the Legacy head's preamp was not in use...
 
Man, I am loving Cygnus.I was just bouncing back and forth playing "Dear Prudence" and "I'm Buzzed" (Michael Landau tune) on a Strat in Drop D tuning into Scene 1 of Factory Preset 1 (59 BassGuy) with just the Amp, Cab and Reverb on. It responds so well (dynamically) to rolling the guitar volume up and down. Chimey crystal cleans to chewy snarling goodness. VERY sensitive to finger and pick attack (in a good way)! Thank you so much Cliff, Matt and FAS! :D
 
Is it not insanity to try to reproduce amps that already exist since 50 years ? I mean if some people goal is to have their favorite artist tone and they have fun doing it, it is cool no ? Better than being drunk in a bar ... you don’t think so ?
I think it's because a lot of classic amps are still very much the gold standard for amp tone.
 
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Love the video as always Leon. You had me right at the start when you said how you need even less tweaking with this update. One of the main reasons I love the Axe FX is how easy it is to get a great tone. No mess, no fuss. Even before Cygnus, I rarely bothered with anything beyond the authentic page of the amp block. Didn’t need to.
The Axe is the only modeller I’ve tried where you can follow a video of someone dialling the real amp and get pretty much the same tone. Some of the amps in the Axe FX I’ve tried in an attempt to broaden my horizon, just sounded bad to me. I thought I must be missing something, but after checking Yek’s guide and watching a few videos, realised that’s exactly how it’s supposed to sound. Just not my tastes, so we move on.

Personally, I‘m really impressed with Cygnus. REALLY impressed. The Marshalls and similar all sound glorious, like they’re spitting fire! Everything is just more......... lively, I guess, but still clear and defined. Almost like I upgraded my monitors. As a few others have said, the sound through headphones is way, way better instantly without any tweaking. Pretty much identical to my monitors now.

I’m not really a chugger or high gain fan, but copied Leon’s preset as I watched the video and I defy anyone not to make the same face. My right hand is cramping and has a big red mark from all the chugging and palm mutes. I’m really surprised some people aren’t happy with the high gain stuff, nothing sounded muddy to me. The opposite really, clear and defined like I say. Leon’s preset sounded even better ”live”.
I think the best thing I can say about the update is that I’m spending way more time playing guitar these last few days and when I’m away from the Axe FX, I can’t wait to get back to it!

Loving that IR as well Leon, never tried that one before, but it’s fighting with the TV Mix 2 for top spot now.
 
Just to chime in on the Vai amp discussions, about 2 years ago I attended Vai Academy (as well as a number of regulars here such as @fremen, @hippietim, @Larry Mitchell, @Admin M@ etc).

I got to hear Vai many times from a very close proximity in various scenarios both with and without the PA involved. It was fucking glorious! His tone in person is ridiculous... So, so good!

I also was able to jam with Steve face to face on stage with the band (Jeremy Coulson, Phil Bynoe, Dave Weiner). What an great experience (this was my 2nd Vai Academy).

Anyway, as of that time, Steve's rig was as follows:

Guitar -> Carvin VLD preamp pedal -> Axe Fx II for effects -> effects Return of 2 Legacy heads -> 2 Legacy cabs

There are some other things like Wah/Whammy in there, too... But that's the core setup.

This was the same rig he used 18 months before at the previous Vai Academy.

I'm pretty sure he's moved on to the next thing from the VLD / Legacy combo but not certain.

In any case, the Legacy head's preamp was not in use...

Technically, the VLD IS the Legacy pre-amp in a pedal.

He’s got a new Synergy signature module and he’s all about the Synergy stuff now.

My first tube amp was an original Legacy that I ordered about 2-3 months after they came out in the late 90’s. They’re not the easiest of amps to play with and felt quite stiff until I learned how to get it rockin’. I used to crank the hell out of it, both the channel volumes and master, and then turn down the output on an old Digitech RDS-1900 unit. Obviously, not a real attenuator, but it smoothed things out. I tracked down a MIJ DS-1 and used that to boost it. I regrettably sold it because I had most of Vai’s Ultra Zone era rig and zero identity of my own.

I don’t know if Carvin changed anything about the Legacy after that run, but the model in the AxeFX always seemed a bit muddier to me. I haven’t really given it a decent shot and it very well have could have been the IR I was using (I had the original greenback-loaded 4x12 Legacy cab when I owned mine). When I started making a Vai preset last week, I went right to the Euro model because my favorite Vai tones were from ’93-’97, his Bogner/Egnator years. I’d be down for giving it a shot with a Legacy.

It would probably do some good to listen to whatever isolated tracks are available of his music, there’s 3 or 4 out there. He uses surprisingly less distortion than I think most would assume. I can imagine anyone trying to Legacy models and cranking the gain up will be dealing with nothing but mud. I know mine always sounded best with the drive around 6, then boosted with a pedal for anything more than that.

Also, off topic, but it was never known as a metal amp and a lot of people claimed it couldn’t be used for metal. I slapped an EQ in the effects loop, I think a 31-band ART, that I’d turn on when we did Pantera/Metallica tunes back in the day. Zero problem getting a scooped metal tone out of it!
 
I’m really surprised some people aren’t happy with the high gain stuff

I’m sure there’s probably some deeper debate to be had about “metal heads” and their staunch resistance to change. But maybe this isn’t the place to open that can of worms ;)
 
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